What are Green Day’s personalities? (Jung/MBTI)

[sara_gd]

Hi there, I don’t know if there are many people here familiar with Jung’s theory of psychological types or with the MBTI test. It classifies people into 16 types basing on four dimensions of how our brains work: Introversion (I)/ Extraversion (E), Intuition (N)/ Sensing (S), Feeling (F)/ Thinking (T) and Perceiving (P)/ Judging (J). I wrote a sum up of the meanings of each letter at the bottom and you can also read about it and take the test in several websites.

What I wanted to discuss in this thread is what type do you think Green Day members are? You can’t really tell for sure as the actions we see might not tell what the person is inside, but it’s fun to guess! Haha. Even if you don’t know much about type, I think it’d be interesting to talk about this, or maybe if you know any other personality theory/test you can suggest… or anything! This is my guess (but I’m quite unsure so I’d love to debate it!!!): 

 

Billie Joe: ISFP 
    It’s possible to think he’s an E, but knowing that he’s had nervous breakdowns before going onstage, how he’s said that he has few really good friends, how he seemed to isolate from everyone before/during rehab (also Lazy Bones’ lyrics), or that at school he used to be alone looking though the window, I think he’s an I. What do you think? 
    S: I think he’s an S because his lyrics tend to be concrete and to approach the senses, there’s metaphors and all but they’re usually about tangible things and facts, also I’ve noticed when he talks about politics he centers his attention on the details. I can’t see Billie reading theoretical books on any matter for example. On the other hand we’ve got the “whole concept” of American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown with huge concepts and un-determined stories… 
    F: I think this is clear. 
    P: wanting to take an idea forward even though he doesn’t know how it’s going to end, working in many things at once and saying things that then he forgets (and us fans take him too seriously sometimes )… 
    When the letters combine the profile tells more than just the combination, and I think the ISFP profile is very Billie Joe (their name is “the artist” or “the adventurer”, their efforts are often dismissed in early life and they drop school a lot, they like staying in the present more than thinking about past and future, they’re down-to-earth…) 

 

Mike: ESFP? ENFP? 
    E: he likes to talk to people, he likes to make jokes, he likes to share his life with the world through social media… 
    I’m not sure about S or N, as he seems to be more idea-centered than fact-centered than Billie Joe I think. Maybe not as much as to be an N? Any thoughts? 
    F: from what I’ve seen he cares a lot about people. Also I remember an interview he did after Billie’s rehab where he focused really a lot on their feelings. 
    P: I’m not sure about this one as I only think intuitively he’s a P. Can anyone come up with any examples? 
    I think he matches quite well with the ESFP profile (optimistic, people generally like them, maybe even an eye for fashion? (doesn’t mean that he’s interested in fashion), there’s a quote that made me think of Nobody likes you lyrics). 

 

Tre: ESTP?
    E: he seems to like talking to people and making jokes too, to the point of not being able to stand still or shut up sometimes , and he seems to like being the center of attention.
    S: This is always the hardest for me… Tre is the member I know less so I’m not sure, but I don’t think he likes dealing with big concepts and meanings.
    T: I remember an interview where he was asked to give a advice to someone that is starting in a band and he said “learn to play music first” or something like that, then Mike said “no, start a band with your friends”, so I think that’s an example that his approach to life is more logic than feeling-based. 
    P: I can’t see an unpredictable impulsive grown up kid running around making fun of everyone being a J  
    The ESTP profile is quite Tre (they move, they’d volunteer for anything (“or volunteer a shy friend”), they like to take risks, they have “a rational, sometimes distrated mind”...) 

 

Jason: I’ve absolutely no idea  

 

Brief summary of what Jung/Myers and Briggs psychological types are about:
It’s all about what your brain’s structure is like, what “mental muscles” you have a preference for using when thinking, acting, making decisions. To tell you it takes your beliefs and prefered behavior, but it has nothing to do with interests, intelligence, etc.

Introversion (I) / Extraversion (E).- It refers to where you get your energy from: outside world (E) or inside world (I), where you go to recharge your batteries, if you prefer to polish an idea in your head before presenting it to people (I) or you actually develop your idea better while talking it out loud to people (E), if you like to know what others expect from you (E) or you prefer to use your own values as a guide (I). 
Sensing (S) / Intuition (N).- It refers to how you receive and process the info best: in a more global way (N) or focusing more in details (S), in a more theoretic (N) or more practical (S) way, focusing in facts (S) or the meaning behind facts (N), if you solve problems recalling your previous experiences (S) or inventing new ways (N), if you trust more your senses (S) or your “sixth sense” (N).
Thinking (T)/ Feeling (F).- If you prefer to think and decide using logic (F) or values and feelings (F), if you value more justice (T) or compassion (F), if you think in general it’s more important for things to make sense or to respect individual differences, if you follow more your heart (F) or your head (T) as the saying goes. 
Percieving (P)/ Judging (J).- It refers to how you structure information: you organize it as it comes and stop when you think you have enough (J) or you gather a lot of information and then you can start organizing it, usually staying open to more information in case circumstances change (P). If you decide quickly (J) or you usually take your time (P), if you start a project once you finished the previous (in a orderly way) (J) or you work in lots of things at once by “waves” (depending on what motivates you in that moment, not in a particular order), if you like to follow a plan that changes as little as possible (J) or you don’t really mind that the plan changes (P), as some say, if you adapt to life (P) or life adapts to you (J). 

I hope you enjoy the thread!!! (I had a few hyperlinks but it's not letting me post them).

[Guest]

Cunts. Except Mike. He's okay.

[MikeDirntConfused]

I think this thread's going a bit too far in terms of obsession.

[Todd]

I disagree with Tre being extroverted. The dude is clearly terrified of the intense fan attention generated by his fame and hides his true personality as much as possible behind a silly exterior.

You really think so? Could you elaborate on that some more? I think that's an interesting idea

[Beerjeezus]

Yay psychology! I love psychology! I need to fish out my old test so I can compare with myself

[Amanda]

I think this thread's going a bit too far in terms of obsession.

Wait till I start the Freud thread, then you can blame your mother.

[Beerjeezus]

I disagree with Tre being extroverted. The dude is clearly terrified of the intense fan attention generated by his fame and hides his true personality as much as possible behind a silly exterior.

Perhaps. He's just difficult to judge. You might be right...Did you read Cometbus? His portrayal of Tre left me even more confused - the guy met him, he knows him and still he wasn't able to describe what is he really like. 

[Beerjeezus]

Wait till I start the Freud thread, then you can blame your mother.

I blame Andres!  

[Guest]

I think this thread's going a bit too far in terms of obsession.

You win my Internet Poster of the Day Award for saying what I was thinking in a far nicer way than I would have put it.

[Chin for a Day]

I think Kay is right on Tre.  I also think you are right on Billie.  He seems to spend alot of time by himself and that seems to be the way he prefers it.  Even surrounded by family and friends he seems to find a way to be alone. 

[Beerjeezus]

I think this thread's going a bit too far in terms of obsession.

Welcome to GDC. 

[Todd]

I just think it's pretty obvious that he has a stage/fan persona that is nothing like who he really is. Most stories of fans meeting him involve them walking away thinking that he's very strange and rude. He doesn't want to be bothered with it. I think he's constructed the persona he has to sort of repel fans from wanting to be around him too much. He's capable of being serious, introspective, and thoughtful as evidenced by the rare moments he takes an interview seriously, but he keeps that side of things pretty strictly under wraps. I'm convinced that the crazy, out there, insane Tre Cool persona we see is a defense mechanism.

yeah, I did think he was very strange and slightly rude

[Beerjeezus]

could be worse

Damn now I miss Flo. 

[Hermione]

Pretty sure it's not possible to accurately analyse someone's personality type without even meeting them.

[Guest]

Pretty sure it's not possible to accurately analyse someone's personality type without even meeting them.

False. I can tell you, without any shadow of a doubt, that Billie Joe is personality type Cunt.

[Beerjeezus]

False. I can tell you, without any shadow of a doubt, that Billie Joe is personality type Cunt.

Tell us more please, Ceagmund Freud

[Hermione]

Probably the most in depth insight into their characters I've seen was in Cometbus In China With Green Day, where you have an old friend of theirs spending time with them, giving his impressions of them in the past and now and partially attempting to analyse them. I recommend it, it's an interesting read. But for fans to try and do it from afar I think nah.

False. I can tell you, without any shadow of a doubt, that Billie Joe is personality type Cunt.

Oh well obviously what I said doesn't apply in your case. Since you're such an eminent expert on the workings of the human mind I'm willing to accept you diagnosis of Cunt as correct.

[GreenDayBass]

could be worse

What on Earth? Where did you find that? A fans Tumblr?

[Beerjeezus]

What on Earth? Where did you find that? Tumblr?

 http://www.greendaycommunity.org/topic/83894-flos-art/

[Guest]

Oh well obviously what I said doesn't apply in your case. Since you're such an eminent expert on the workings of the human mind I'm willing to accept you diagnosis of Cunt as correct.

The only other person I've diagnosed is myself, and I think it's very accurate.

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

Perhaps. He's just difficult to judge. You might be right...Did you read Cometbus? His portrayal of Tre left me even more confused - the guy met him, he knows him and still he wasn't able to describe what is he really like. 

Aaron knows him well and he described him pretty much as a loud mouthed, attention seeking, annoying fuck with zero morals and scruples who annoys everyone around him. He painted a beautiful picture.

 

 

Probably the most in depth insight into their characters I've seen was in Cometbus In China With Green Day, where you have an old friend of theirs spending time with them, giving his impressions of them in the past and now and partially attempting to analyse them. I recommend it, it's an interesting read. But for fans to try and do it from afar I think nah.

Oh well obviously what I said doesn't apply in your case. Since you're such an eminent expert on the workings of the human mind I'm willing to accept you diagnosis of Cunt as correct.

I agree... Its beyond dumb for fans to guess what members of a band are like personality wise. Even if you have met them for a few minutes there is no way you know what they are actually really like as people. They are always projecting a particular image to the public anyway so they may be completely different in reality. 

[Hermione]

Aaron knows him well and he described him pretty much as a loud mouthed, attention seeking, annoying fuck with zero morals and scruples who annoys everyone around him. He painted a beautiful picture.

 

 

This is true, although it does seem he might be a little biased as he was closer to Billie and Mike (having known them longer and been their roadie) and was good friends with John and evidently preferred that band line up. As we've discussed I think he was slightly harsh about Tre at times (although other times it was justified), but yeah the attention seeking and trying too hard to be funny thing definitely came through strongly. I guess that showed that side of him isn't solely reserved for interviews and on stage, as far as the impression he left on Aaron anyway.

Like you say though there's still no way to guess particularly accurately about his personality even from that, not in any kind of conclusive way at least. He was on tour and with someone he knew would be writing about it, it's interesting to read but not exactly a way to get a reliable psychological profile. Without knowing them privately or being their psychologist who knows.

[Trotsky]

None of them are cool INFP's like me.

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

This is true, although it does seem he might be a little biased as he was closer to Billie and Mike (having known them longer and been their roadie) and was good friends with John and evidently preferred that band line up. As we've discussed I think he was slightly harsh about Tre at times (although other times it was justified), but yeah the attention seeking and trying too hard to be funny thing definitely came through strongly. I guess that showed that side of him isn't solely reserved for interviews and on stage.

By the time Aaron wrote that book he had known Tré for about 20 years! He had toured several times with Tré in the band as a roadie and (from reading about a million Cometbus issues over the years it's evident) he continually attended gigs and events (such as a taping of Letterman in 95 for example) and regularly met up with them on their tours just to hang out. He just has issues with Tré by his own admission. Not everyone likes everyone and I guess Aaron and Tré are just so opposite it's ridiculous. His descriptions of Tre may sound harsh but nothing he said was really shocking given that we all know that Tré is loud, attention seeking, foul mouthed and can be annoying and we don't even know what it's like to be stuck with him on a tour bus etc.

[Hermione]

By the time Aaron wrote that book he had known Tré for about 20 years! He had toured several times with Tré in the band as a roadie and (from reading about a million Cometbus issues over the years it's evident) he continually attended gigs and events (such as a taping of Letterman in 95 for example) and regularly met up with them on their tours just to hang out. He just has issues with Tré by his own admission. Not everyone likes everyone and I guess Aaron and Tré are just so opposite it's ridiculous. His descriptions of Tre may sound harsh but nothing he said was really shocking given that we all know that Tré is loud, attention seeking, foul mouthed and can be annoying and we don't even know what it's like to be stuck with him on a tour bus etc.

Yeah I agree that they're obviously total opposites, and that was his impression of Tre. Just saying his impression is just that though, his impression, so it'll be biased in various ways like anyone else's would be.